SAY, DOES YOUR WORLD CUP RUNNETH OVER?

Sure, they can kick a ball. But can they kick it hard enough to move markets?

Foreign & Colonial Management Ltd. wants to find out. The London-based money-management firm with about $40 billion in assets recently launched a new index to determine whether there’s a correlation between the World Cup Soccer Tournament and stock market movements.

The Foreign & Colonial World Cup Index is based on the dubious thesis that the markets of countries should rise and fall in line with the performance of their World Cup teams. That may sound strange but many market watchers swear by similar theories, like the one that links stock performance to the outcome of each year’s National Football League Super Bowl game.

This new index got off to a shaky start when Brazil’s market plunged 4.8% despite the national soccer team’s 2-1 victory over Scotland on June 10, the opening day of the tournament.

Since then, however, the theory seems to be kicking butt. Colombia’s market climbed 10.4% June 22 after its 1-0 victory over Tunisia. The South African market dropped 1.7% on June 18 after it lost to Denmark by a score of 2-1.

Still, investors shouldn’t trade their research reports for box seats. The index doesn’t explain the 3.3% rise in the Brazilian market on June 23, the same day that country’s soccer team lost to Norway, also by a score of 2-1.

“The Brazil-Norway match is an anomaly,” notes a newsletter put out by Foreign & Colonial. “Both countries passed into the next stage and the Brazilians are more passionate about their football.”

A spokesman for Foreign & Colonial makes it clear that the company isn’t taking its index too seriously: “We are not changing our investment strategy in any way, shape or form. This index is being done purely in the good spirit of the World Cup Soccer Tournament.”

For market watchers who can’t stand the suspense, the World Cup competition is scheduled to end Sunday.